This Little Piggy Went Out To Dinner

the tablehopper | 12:00 pm | March 2, 2009 | Foodie 411, Marina/Presidio

The Tipsy Pig | credit Gene Kosoy

The Tipsy Pig, an American gastropub/tavern, has opened in the former Bistro Yoffi space in the Marina. The crew behind the project is Nate Valentine, Stryker Scales, and executive chef Sam Josi of the Sustainable Restaurants group (Mamacita, Umami, and Blue Barn), and the co-executive chef is Daniel Burckhard (Blue Barn, Foreign Cinema, and Greens).

The brunch, lunch, and dinner menus will highlight American pub classics made with seasonal and artisanal ingredients, sourcing a majority of produce from the Josi family’s Oak Hill Farm in Sonoma. Dishes include a spinach salad with kabocha squash, aged gouda, and a bacon-sherry vinaigrette; a maple-brined Niman pork chop with caramelized apples deglazed with brandy, grain mustard sauce, and Yukon Gold/Brussels sprouts/apple hash; and of course there’s a Tipsy Burger, but this one is made with three cuts of house-ground beef: sirloin, brisket, and chuck.

There is also a kid’s menu, with chicken fingers, mini potpies, and a menu sheet with a game of tic-tac-toe that results in the shape of a pig.

The look is rustic and warm, and includes the space’s original ten-seat wooden bar that dates back to 1931 and many recycled items, plus brown walls, wood floors, and large chalkboards announcing daily specials. There are two rooms: the main dining room is “The Living Room,” and there’s a more intimate “Library” room with a working hobbit stove. You’ll find a sunny 50-seat patio in the back with communal picnic tables, a canopy of trees, and a garden with pink lemons, grapefruit, Buddha’s hand, and herbs. The bar program will include updated American classic cocktails, wine, and eight beers on tap, with 15 beers by the bottle, including the “Tipsy Pig Brew,” an exclusive brew. As for the name, here’s the story, “During England’s apple season (October–April), farmers would send pigs to retrieve fallen apples, and because the apples would often ferment, the pigs would get drunk or ‘tipsy.’”

Hours are 5pm–2am, with food served until 10:30pm. Brunch and lunch service will start a few weeks later.

• 2231 Chestnut St. at Avila, 415-292-2300

Marcia Gagliardi writes a popular weekly e-column about the SF dining scene, “the tablehopper.” Subscribe for free at www.tablehopper.com and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. Got news? Email Marcia at taste@sanfrancisco.travel.